Memorial Day

We just got back from the National Memorial Cemetery we go to every year. I love going there. People jam pack that place to go see their dads, moms, brothers, sons, daughters, husbands, wives, aunts, uncles, grandpas, grandmas, etc. This year was even more packed than usual, which was awesome. Nearly 49,000 people are at rest in that sacred ground. They aren't just normal people though. Each one of them is there not just because they died, but for what they did when they were alive. They set themselves apart, did something only 1% of our population will ever do. They served, or an immediate family member served our Nation. Some served in peacetime, but the majority of those men and women out there, served in wartime.

The names you see are those of men and women who went to War and came home. You don't see very many names out there who died in battle. No, all these people came home to try and live their version of normal lives. They got jobs, got married, had kids, then grand kids, retired, and then went on to whatever comes after. Even after all those years though, they return to be with their brothers and sisters, side by side for eternity. A lot the people there only served a few years in the service, but this is where they chose to be at the end. For them, "just a few years" meant more than most people can imagine.

Those few years helped shape our world, and forever changed their lives for worse or better or both. Many of these heroes probably carried emotional and physical scars from those few years, scars they got providing for our future. They put their bodies and minds on the line for us. Just like those that came before them, and those that are doing it now. Pure selflessness. That is lesson I hope my boys learn from going there every year. There are things more important in life than YOU. Than ME. No person is more important than WE.

Thank you to all those who have served this Country, and all those who have lost a family member who has served. We are forever in your debt.

Genius

I don't know if you enjoy oddball humor as much as I do, but if you do...watch this. Then watch every other video this guy has ever made or will make. He's not putting on an act, this is just who he is and He. Is. Awesome.

Love letter

Tonight I came home to find a love letter waiting for me by the laptop from my wife. Just what I needed. It's been a ridiculously fast paced week and we have barely been able to say two words to each other. She's a Mom, a teacher, a friend...but she's also my wife and I do miss her so. I really only get to see her on the weekends and it's truly just not enough. I miss talking to her about her day. I miss seeing her with the boys, all cuddled up on the couch before bedtime. I really miss kissing her, especially since the beard is an added hindrance along with the time crunch. I guess I really just miss all of her. Those of you who know us, know that I seriously married up, so a guy like me wants nothing more than to be with a woman like her.

Thank God for summertime. Two more days and I get to wake up with my wife every morning for a few months and give her long hugs and kisses before work each day. That's the good stuff right there.

I miss you and I love you too babe.

Last Game

Jake's last game was this morning. Not the last he'll ever play, just the last this season. Sadly, maybe the last with this group of kids though. The City of Phoenix decided to go ahead and cut out all youth sports for the rest of the year to save money so...yeah, there's that. I hope we can stay with Coach Jim and some of the kids as we all move into another league in the fall.

Anyhoo, the game was a blast and Jake played like he was going to get a trophy at the end, which well...he was, and he did. He is so dadgum proud of that trophy. You'd think he won MVP of the World Series.

Jake, I am so proud of you buddy. All of us had so much fun watching you play the game you love so much. I can't wait until next season when you and B get to play together. I'm sure you'll have all kinds of cool things to teach him. Love you son.

Mother's Day 2008

Wow. That was a long day. A good day, don't get me wrong, just a long one. The boys got us up early because to them, Mother's Day isn't about sleep. It's about getting up early and opening presents. Well, I can't blame them because they did make Cindy some really cool gifts at preschool last week. Makes me almost wish they would be in school for Father's Day so I could score the same coolness.

Anyway, after presents I made waffles with strawberries, powdered sugar, and syrup. Then after the boys (and Mommy) were stuffed we went to a park to feed some ducks and let the boys play on the playground. It was a hot day, but in the shade...nice. The boys had a great time and Jake would have been happy to just feed the ducks and geese all dadgum day.

Next we trucked it on over to Wal-Mart to buy a new pool for the outfield. Seems we only get one good summer out of those kiddie pools, but they are worth it anyway. We took it home and the boys swam, jumped, splashed and got a little color on those pearly white noggins.

Then, we all took a well earned nap. The boys didn't fight it one bit. They marched their little B-hinds right up to bed, blankets in hand. Awesome.

When we all got up, I grilled some ribeyes I'd marinated overnight, made some asparagus and Cindy baked some potatoes. You would have thought it was Father's Day. But nope, my girl likes some steak! The boys both liked it too...so much that Jake almost ate more than his Mommy. To top all that heaviness off, me and Brady made our famous bread pudding. He is quite the egg cracker/sugar scooper/bread ripper. Judging by his empty bowl I'd say he was pretty impressed with his skills as well.

So now, I am the only one awake in the house but not for long. Happy Mother's Day to all you Mommas out there. Goodnight.

Picture Day

We got up at 6:45 to go stand underneath some semi-shady pine trees and take Jake's T-Ball team pictures. Good thing he did so good in his game, or I might have fallen asleep on the bench.

Preschool Pizza Party 2008

Tuesday night was the annual Preschool Pizza party at our school. It was filled with lots of pizza, cake, and playing with friends. Jake and Brady's teachers do the most wonderful thing for each child. They make a book filled with pictures from the year for everyone to keep. I remember getting Jake's last year and looking at it over and over. The boys were very proud to give me their books.

First we looked at Brady's and it filled me with so much happiness. On the cover was a picture of him from his first day and a picture from about a week ago (end of the year). I couldn't stop smiling at my sweet, wonderful little boy on every page. No matter what he was doing in each picture, he had a true look of joy on his face. His teacher wrote captions about his creativity, his love for learning, what a great friend he is, and how smart he is. His first year of Preschool appeared to be as fun for him as it was for me! I am so proud of you, Brady!

Looking at Jake's was a little harder for me. On Jake's cover there were three pictures. One from his very first day of preschool last year, one from his first day this year, and his end of the year photo. My heart filled with so many emotions just looking at my boy from his very first day of school until now. He has grown so much in so many ways. I could hardly get through Jake's while I fought back the tears. Yes, I am a dork. But to think about Jake starting Kindergarten next year is just incredible and a little hard to believe. Jake's teacher us about how he has become a leader and a teacher for his friends. He is more confident and it really shows. The boy who hardly spoke in class last year, now gets up in front of the class to read things to everyone and share his ideas. Jake, I am so proud of you too. Thank you for not only be a good classmate to your brother this year, but for being such a good friend to everyone.

Boys, your Daddy and I were excited that you were going to be able to share this year of school together, and you made it more special than we could have imagined. Your teachers told us time and time again what a difference you two made this year with your friends. You made us so proud each time we heard that you were helping other kids make good choices and showing others how to be a good friend. Thank you for such a wonderful year.

**And thank you to Mrs. D., Mrs. H., Mrs. S., Mrs. H., and Mrs. B. for being the best Preschool teachers at the BEST Preschool EVER!!

TGIF on a Sunday

Sprink-luhs

Burgers, watermelon, and running in the sprinklers. Summer is right around the corner.

Baseball and Great Grandma

Jake's Great Grandma Ann got to come to his game this morning with Mimi and O. Pretty awesome stuff. Jake played so hard the whole time and even gave her a thumbs up after scoring his first run. After the game we all went out for breakfast at McDonald's. Jake introduced her to the mysterious and delicious sausage McGriddle. Then Mimi and O took her to the airport and we took the boys home for a 4 hour nap. Woo Hoo!

Finally

We went and had Brady's food allergies tested again. It's been a year, so he had the usual suspects, plus a few more done. Surprisingly his reaction to peanuts went way down. Not that he can eat them still but, better is better. The bad news is that he is highly allergic to pistachios. Probably my favorite nut, but it won't be in the house anymore. Walnuts didn't register a reaction this time. However, pecans, almonds, and hazelnuts die. Nice. Plus on the he is allergic to chicken, duck and goose feathers. So, no down blankets or pillows for that guy.

The big one though, the one he has been waiting months to get tested for...he passed. He is not, I repeat NOT allergic to shellfish. You should have seen his face when he heard that. Of course I didn't bring the camera. He was through the roof happy. We told him for weeks that if and when he passed the test that we would take him out to eat as many shrimp as he wanted. That's just what we did. We went directly to Red Lobster and the kid pounded down all of his popcorn shrimp and two of my jumbo shrimp. I'm pretty sure if there had been more he would have gobbled those up to. He was just all smiles the whole time.

I am so happy for the little dude. For someone who loves to try any new food, and is denied a whole food group...its pretty awesome a new world of flavor has opened up for him. So for all the grandfolks out there looking to splurge...he is all amped up to try crab next time.

Jake's Elephant

Not to be outdone, Jake brought this home from school today. Wow.

Brady's Napoleon

Before school today, Brady sat down on the couch and busted out this awesomeness. He said, "It's Napoleon Dynamite jumping off his chair and tater tots are flying out of his pocket." Brilliant.

Ear Whack!

Brady. Sweet little Brady. His mind is unlike any other mind on Earth.

Tonight he was sitting on the couch, cuddling with his Mommy. Mommy had just given him some water and sat back down to cuddle. Here is the conversation;

B. "Thank you for my water Mommy."
M. "You're welcome."
B. "I needed it because my ear hurts."
M. "Your ear hurts?"
B. "No, just my ear whack."
M. "Your ear whack?"
B. "Yeah, but I'm all better now."

So, maybe he has an earache, but it's doubtful. We could have corrected him, and said it is called wax, but whack is way cooler and makes it sounds less disgusting. Brady, you are my crafty little wordsmith and I love you for it.

Slugger

Yes we have another son, and he is the subject of the next post...but this is another picture of/about Jake. Again. And T-Ball. Again. Jake hit this ball a country mile. It was awesome. My heart is swollen. That is all.

Awww...

Just a quick pick from last weeks game. One of the cuter photos in our collection.

Updates and whatnot

OK I have a few changes/updates to this new chapter in our lives and blog. From now on, I'm going to post updates on the beard and money raised etc on the new blog "Beard for The Cure" linked to the right. That way we can keep things a little more "sitchiated". I'm going to try and keep this blog mostly still about the boys and our trials and tribulations raising them. So I will still probably end up talking about it on here anyway, but mostly it will be about the dudes.

Now then, the big news is that all you awesome people get to meet two new (and previously anonymous) super awesome people, but you're going to have to click the link on the beard blog to meet them. So go right ahead, and make with the clickery. I will be busy, sitting here growing my beard.

Oh yeah, and his pops just made a new blog all about his boy too, go there, check it out and help them out if you can. It's in the links under "The Longest Day".

The Beard Man Cometh

Alright so a month or so ago I was rocking a beard. It was thick and luxurious...dare I say glorious? It was a huge hit with the man in the mirror and his two offspring, but not so much with our lone female voice of reason around here. So I shaved it off and I've been smooth ever since.

Tonight I have been researching the type, treatment, prognosis, etc, of the kind of cancer my little buddy has. It's actually quite rare and the fastest growing of all of them. In fact some studies have shown that it can double it's size in 24 hours or less. However if caught early and treated aggressively, there is a high survival rate. All indications so far say that they caught it early. God I hope so.

After I got through feeding my brain and being really just generally angry and depressed, I started looking at ways to separate you people from your money. I totally ripped this idea off a group of dudes who did it a few years back. I know in these lean times everybody is probably doing a little belt tightening, so I am going to give you something for your money. A beard. Thick. Luxurious. Glorious. All it will cost you is $1 a day for everyday I don't shave. You don't have to give me the money, instead I am asking you to donate it to Phoenix Children's Hospital. I'll keep track of how many days it's been and post a weekly photo of my fuzzy visage as proof that I'm earning your money. You can donate daily, weekly, monthly or at the end. Your choice. I'll grow it starting now, until my little buddy is cured. So maybe you will only be out a few bucks...but every dollar counts. Those of you who have done better than others this year, feel free to donate even more per day. And hey, by this time next year you will be able to subtract a little ( or not so little) chunk off those tax returns. Woo Hoo!

Is this ridiculous? Of course it is. But it's even more ridiculous that in a country as great as ours, we can't cure or prevent a disease that is killing our children every day. Last year over 10,000 kids were diagnosed with cancer in the U.S. alone. It's the leading cause of death for children from birth to 15 years old. One child is too many. This little fund raiser may be a drop in the bucket, but a least it's a drop. My friend and his son have given me so much joy in my life, that to sit idly by and do nothing but cry helpless tears would be unthinkable. Please join me in this small fight, and encourage others to do so. At the very least, you will get a laugh, and a good feeling in your heart.

Worst. Day. Ever.

I got an email from a very close friend today. Close friend is kind of an understatement. We've shared just about all you can share without moving to Vermont, growing mustaches, wearing cut off short-shorts and muscle shirts, and flying a rainbow flag on the front porch. We've done completely irresponsible things together, completely responsible things together and some things that are just better left forgotten. There have been times I thought I was going to die, and times I nearly died from laughter.

So, when he emailed me today and told me that his son, my Godson, has cancer...well, it was like hearing one of my own kids has it. At first I was like, "In a friggin email you tell me this shiz!?!" Then I remembered how he operates, which is exactly how I operate. I would have sent the email too. Neither one of us handles grief well, or any of the common emotions humans feel. No matter though, I could feel his words as if they were my own. Like someone has just ripped your heart out but somehow you are still alive.

The battery of tests is going to start today and all this week. He's a tough kid, always has been, but this has got to be scary. He's his father's son, so he'll probably put on a tough face, grit his teeth and grind it out. And like his father he'll fight this disease with all he has, and laugh at it when he's done kicking it around. Seriously, I have been in many a scrap alongside his pops and hopefully he is just like him...no off switch. True story : Like a scene from some crappy 80's movie, I once had to grab his face and remind him who he was, just to keep him from taking some dude off the planet. Cancer...you don't know who you picked a fight with, but you are about to find out.

There may be a time when he says it's OK to post his name and his boys name on here, but I haven't asked him yet so I won't until then. Please just hit your knees and pray to whatever God you pray to that he is healed.

You hear that God? I am recruiting on your behalf, let's see some of those fireworks you are always talking about in that crazy book I've read 5 times cover to cover. That's right, FIVE TIMES! Old Testament. Even the parts I couldn't understand which is about 27% of it. FIVE TIMES! I'll start on number six tonight, you start healing my GODson. Deal? Deal.

Diamondbacks Home Opener 2008

Clapping, not praying.

Those tricky Dbacks had me thinking they lied about having MLB's largest HD scoreboard.

3 minutes later...TA DAH! 136 feet wide x 46 feet high. Yeah, but can they hook a Wii up to it?

Our millionaires are better than their millionaires.

Jake digs the blue raspberry Icees.

Brady goes for the cherry.

Byrnesy in HD.

Brady was quite enthused to check his height with Baxter.

Jake...not so much.

Poppy's brick.